r/mantids • • 6h ago

Announcement HE MOLTED

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37 Upvotes

everyone say good job


r/mantids • • 1h ago

Preservation Tips for Pinning and Displaying my sweet Uxie

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• Upvotes

Last week my mantis Uxie passed. She was such a beautiful expressive lady and I’m so sad about her passing.

I would like to display her but would like advice from anyone who has done so. I plan to find some type of container for her display from the dollar store because I’m on a budget. Would there be any concern like a risk of there being less longevity of her final resting place with this idea?

When displaying my past pets I enjoy collecting some materials from their enclosures that they enjoyed. For Uxie, I want to put the pipe cleaner that she had in her original container from the store that has since remained in her enclosure and perhaps part of the dowel she loved walking along if I can cut it at home. How could I display her on these items so she can rest on them in a pose?

What tips do you guys have for pinning. I have never pinned an insect that requires organ removal and stuffing. What are your tips for this? I ordered pins and blunt tweezer tools. I will be buying cotton balls and some type of glue at the dollar store as well. Any tips on other steps as well would be appreciated!!

She also has lost some color since passing, has anyone had experience with adding pigment back to her with paints or something similar?

I added some pictures of my sweet girl. When I first bought her she was so scared. She was bought from a sketch place. They were totally feeding her crickets which made me feel so bad. She was the best ally and was obsessed with my wife (one time she even jumped on her face, it was seriously one of the only times she ever jumped while being handled). After her final molt she also turned green, which happens to be favorite color! I’m going to miss her so much and I wish she could have been around for forever.


r/mantids • • 4h ago

Other Emergency insect move

3 Upvotes

I have to move my mantises, jumping spiders, and isopods to my mom’s house while an infestation is being taken care of at this house.
She pours clorox into the ac pipe every month and says it only smells like bleach immediately when she pours it. If she was able to hold off on doing that for two months (the longest amount of time i’m thinking this might take) would they be safe to stay over there?

Last time she poured it was last Sunday and I need to move my bugs by this weekend. She says the smell isn’t there anymore


r/mantids • • 11m ago

Image/Video 3 surprises in the morning

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• Upvotes
  1. Máni - Heterochaeta Orientalis

  2. Athena - Hymenopus Coronatus

  3. Nyx/Heimdall - Hierodula Pulchripes

Máni was on the ground so I offered my hand to help him climb onto a branch because he seemed weak. He seems fine now🙏


r/mantids • • 10h ago

Preservation Found this little bro outside. How to pin? NSFW

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8 Upvotes

I found this guy today. Super sad they died like this, probably stepped on by another highschooler. This is my first mantis pin, so I have a few questions. Should I stuff their abdomen due to the damage, and how do I repair the damage? Also, what species are they? Found in southeastern PA.


r/mantids • • 9h ago

Image/Video Mantis photoshoot 📸

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4 Upvotes

r/mantids • • 1h ago

General Care Sideways abdomen?

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• Upvotes

Have had this T. sinensis for about 2 months now, just noticed today that he’s been holding his abdomen way to the side of his wings like this. Does this mean anything or is it normal? I haven’t seen it this crooked yet, but this is my first mantis so I don’t know if this is a sign of anything. I haven’t noticed him fall or act any differently, and I’m pretty sure this is his final molt so I know he won’t have too much longer. Thanks for any answers and help!


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Image/Video RIP to my first ever Mantid Ninja😭

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41 Upvotes

I came home and found her at the bottom 😩😩😩

I mean I already knew the life span is short because when I found her , she had wings aka adult life but damn

You’ve left an imprint on me . I didn’t know how cool mantis were until I had you 😔


r/mantids • • 16h ago

Feeding Keeping exotic mantids is illegal in my country, so here's my local mantis (Tenodera sinensis)

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7 Upvotes

r/mantids • • 11h ago

Image/Video Our hierodula membranacea starting with the legs of a very unfortunate Turkmenistan roach

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2 Upvotes

r/mantids • • 13h ago

Feeding Food

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3 Upvotes

Are these guys big enough to eat other bugs than wingless fruit flies? What should I try?
I tried mini mealworms they seemed interested for a little bit but then didn’t
yes I know mealworms aren’t the best but I was trying something other than flies


r/mantids • • 11h ago

ID Help Presub or Subadult?

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1 Upvotes

Deroplatys Dessicata

i7

Female

3 people including me think presub


r/mantids • • 17h ago

Feeding orchid mantis won't eat

2 Upvotes

Hi! I've had my L4/5 orchid mantis for 2 days now, her behaviour seems normal, however she has refused to eat yesterday and today. yesterday I just brushed it off as her not being hungry yet, but im concerned about her not wanting to eat today. I'm wondering why she refuses to eat at all. The temperature is at around 26C, the humidity is at 70%, she has plenty of space to hang and climb on, I've offered fruit flies, and the smallest locusts I could find. I tried putting her in a smaller container with a fruit fly first and then a locust just incase she was struggling to get to it, but still nothing. I tried to use tweezers to hold the prey in front of her but again nothing. She just ignores it and goes about her normal mantis activities.. what do I do?!!??!


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Image/Video meet Melon! my first ever mantis

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26 Upvotes

r/mantids • • 1d ago

Image/Video Haha after so long I found the mantis that gave me a bit of greave as I remembered having a small argument as a kid with a friend I should him one of this he said it's just an ant before we could ask a teacher the little one disappeared🤣

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7 Upvotes

Now finally I could get second opinions😅 sorry if it's blurry little one keeps running around it's hard for me to hold my jewelry lob on the camera og my phone using one hand


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Image/Video Visitor on my house today!

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12 Upvotes

She looks like shes in pretty bad shape. Pretty sure shes a European mantis. So cute, she looks like mine


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Feeding steven's feeding schedule has slowed down a LOT... is she just getting ready to lay ooth?

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13 Upvotes

last time i fed her was 10/05-- 9 days ago. and she doesnt look that much less full than she was right after feeding. she's been calling a lot over the past several weeks so i think she's just holding her ooth to mate,,, but i dont plan on pairing her (i dont have a male and im not gonna go outside and find one at the risk of stevens health) so itll def be infertile. atp im getting a little concerned about oothbinding. shes still pooping and behaving normally though. about when can i expect her to lay? is theyre anything else i can do for her? or could this be a different health issue?


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Artwork Would you get this mantis tattoo?

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21 Upvotes

I am a beginner tattoo artist.

I made this tattoo on fake skin.

Would you want it?


r/mantids • • 1d ago

ID Help Identification help?

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7 Upvotes

Can someone help me determine the exact species of this mantis?


r/mantids • • 1d ago

RIP ❤️ Molting/Rearing Advice?

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2 Upvotes

UPDATE!!


r/mantids • • 1d ago

General Care hunger strike?

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2 Upvotes

first time mantis owner here - my ghost mantis Tink hasn’t eaten in probably about a week now, i’m pretty sure she just molted (although i didn’t see it or find the molt) as it seemed like she kind of just grew overnight. she won’t eat literally anything i offer her, fruit flies, bluebottle flies, bluebottle larvae, mealworms, dubias - anything. is this normal for them to just reject food?


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Feeding Feeding my adult giant rainforest mantis

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3 Upvotes

Today four days after his final moult i have fed him a locust. I was also lucky enough to catch him moulting, also some advice on feeding male mantis would be appreciated


r/mantids • • 1d ago

ID Help Gender? And species?

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3 Upvotes

Found in Rockville, MD


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Image/Video My orchid mantis loves watching her thermo-hygrometer

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6 Upvotes

She spends most of her day just staring at it. It’s like a lil TV for her I guess


r/mantids • • 1d ago

Health Issues Lost tip of raptorial limbs?

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2 Upvotes

This is Alfonso, he's a Double Shield mantis, who's been an adult for about a month and a half. On Monday I discovered he was missing most of his tibia and his Tarsus on his left raptorial.

I know that since he's an adult, it won't ever regenerate. He seems to be doing fine with his remaining raptorial. I'm just at a loss for how he lost it. I fed him Sunday morning, and he had both of them then. He did however seem to have the affected limb stuck in the tulle mesh. I gently nudged it to free it, and I was very gentle and it seemed fine afterwards, he even used it to grab his food.

It's kind of eating me a bit to think I might have hurt my poor boy. Is there any possibility of something else happening? Some people have suggested he just got overzealous while he was feeding and chewed it off, but I've never heard of that happening before.

If anyone has any insight into what happened and how to prevent it from happening again, I would appreciate it. Thank you in advance.